Soon after Garnett was dealt, Howard asked vice
president of basketball operations Kevin McHale and owner Glen Taylor
to trade him to a contender.

"Yes I would love to play for a
contender and put myself in the position to win a title before my
career is over with," the 34-year-old Howard said Friday in his first
public comments about the situation. "If I was 27 or 30 years old, this
situation wouldn’t be bad at all. That would mean I would still have
time to grow with this team, because this is going to be a growing
process."

"He doesn’t really want to go to
just any team," McHale said. "I had a long talk with Juwan and I told
him, ‘I understand where you’re coming from.’ Your career is a finite
thing. And when it’s over, you can’t go back and re-do it. … But it’s
got to be a deal that fits what we’re trying to accomplish. If that
handful of teams can come up with what we need, we’ll try to get
something done."

"If the trade request is not rewarded, I’m going to come here and play hard. Be the professional I’ve always been. I’m not going to be a cancer or a distraction to the team…I’m here today as a Minnesota Timberwolf and if I continue to play throughout this season as a Minnesota Timberwolf I will respect that decision. If I was 27 or 30 years old this situation would not be bad at all whatsoever. This is going to be a growing process. This is a young talented group of players that has a chance to be special. "